tsa security airport line

TSA Screened Record Number of Travelers During July Fourth Weekend

The agency said it screened over 11.9 million passengers and crew as well as over 8 million checked bags during the holiday travel period.

  • By Haley Samsel
  • Jul 12, 2019

The Transportation Security Administration, tasked with screening airplane passengers across the U.S., experienced one of its busiest travel periods ever during this year’s July Fourth weekend, the agency announced Thursday.

On July 7, the TSA screened 2,795,014 passengers and crew nationwide — the highest number ever recorded by the agency, surpassing a record set earlier this year during Memorial Day weekend. From July 3 to July 7, over 11.9 million passengers and crew went through TSA checkpoints, and over 8 million checked bags were examined by agents.

Travelers were originally worried about long security lines during the holiday, particularly after the TSA diverted 350 employees to the southern border to assist Customs and Border Protection agents. But the agency reported that 99.7 percent of passengers waited less than 30 minutes in line.

“The operational success we experienced over the July Fourth holiday weekend is a testament to the combined efforts of our dedicated workforce and industry alliances,” Patricia Cogswell, the acting deputy administrator of the TSA, said in a statement. “What I’m most proud of isn’t just the quantity of passengers and checked bags screened, but the quality of the screening our people provided even with that tremendous volume.”

The agency typically screens about 2.2 million passengers and crew members each day. Each day of the Independence Day travel period, except for July 4 itself, exceeded that average, the TSA said.

Eight of the TSA’s top 10 busiest travel days ever have been recorded this year, according to data provided by the agency. In its release, the TSA said it “expects many more record-breaking periods” this summer and continues to advise passengers to show up two hours before domestic flights and three hours before flying internationally.

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Maximizing Your Security Budget This Year

    Perimeter Security Standards for Multi-Site Businesses

    When you run or own a business that has multiple locations, it is important to set clear perimeter security standards. By doing this, it allows you to assess and mitigate any potential threats or risks at each site or location efficiently and effectively. Read Now

  • New Research Shows a Continuing Increase in Ransomware Victims

    GuidePoint Security recently announced the release of GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team’s (GRIT) Q1 2024 Ransomware Report. In addition to revealing a nearly 20% year-over-year increase in the number of ransomware victims, the GRIT Q1 2024 Ransomware Report observes major shifts in the behavioral patterns of ransomware groups following law enforcement activity – including the continued targeting of previously “off-limits” organizations and industries, such as emergency hospitals. Read Now

  • OpenAI's GPT-4 Is Capable of Autonomously Exploiting Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

    According to a new study from four computer scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, OpenAI’s paid chatbot, GPT-4, is capable of autonomously exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities without any human assistance. Read Now

  • Getting in Someone’s Face

    There was a time, not so long ago, when the tradeshow industry must have thought COVID-19 might wipe out face-to-face meetings. It sure seemed that way about three years ago. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
Most   Popular

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis. 3

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure. 3

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3